Wearing tutus or tube socks or twinning by wearing the same thing.
Working “two-gether” to bring in canned goods for a food pantry.
Doing classwork on compound words, multiplying by two and comparing and contrasting two versions of a story.
Having a dance party in their classroom at 2:22 p.m.
Even eating twin popsicles, tacos and 2-shaped doughnuts.
These are among the ways local kids and adults celebrated 2/22/22, which was known as “Twosday,” around Jackson County on Tuesday.
The week of 2/21/22 to 2/28/22 is unique because each day’s date is the same when read forward and backward. When people realized the special designation of Twosday, they came up with creative ways to celebrate the occasion.
At Seymour schools, second grade teachers took 2/22/22 to heart even more.
Jami Kiel and Jennie Chase, who teach second grade at Emerson Elementary School, wore matching T-shirts and tutus. Kiel even had her daughter, Charlee, a second-grader at the school, and friend Laurel Maloney dress as twins wearing tutus for 2/22/22.
“My students started the day making a time capsule while eating a ‘two’sie pop,” Kiel said. “We then partner read our story and had a Nutty Buddy. Next, we worked with compound words. This afternoon, we are multiplying by two, working on double-digit addition and subtraction, comparing and contrasting two versions of a story, enjoying tacos and twin popsicles, playing Guess Who from when they were 2 and a schoolwide dance party at 2:22. We are doing all things 2.”
Seymour-Jackson, Margaret R. Brown and Cortland elementary schools also had a dance party at 2:22 p.m. Tuesday.
Also at Cortland, the parent-teacher organization encouraged students to wear ties, tiaras, tutus, two different socks or tie-dye clothing. They also worked “two”gether to collect 106 nonperishable canned goods for the Community Provisions of Jackson County food pantry in Seymour. Of course, each student was asked to bring in two cans of food.
The five second grade teachers at Brown also wore matching shirts and had students do 2-related activities, find matching pairs of different items and eat tacos from Taco Bell on Twosday because as teacher Lizz Patterson said, “Who doesn’t have tacos on a Tuesday?”
“2day in 2nd grade, we really did it,” she said. “Twoday was a lot of fun.”
Patterson also shared a fun fact: The last time 2/22/22 happened was on Feb. 22, 1922, and when her students are a year of out high school, they will experience 3/3/33.
At Brownstown schools, middle school students could bring in two canned goods to earn two Brave Bucks, and third-graders in Beth Shelton’s class celebrated Twosday by twinning.
Devin Gray, 9, and Karcynn Ray, 8, both wore black Red Alert softball shirts and black pants, and Braelyn Gay and Aubree Prewitt, both 9, wore black-and-white checkered button-up shirts over green 4-H shirts.
“All the girls agreed that dressing alike is so much fun,” Katherine Prewitt said.
Crothersville Elementary School gave students and staff four options to celebrate the once-in-a-lifetime occurrence: Dress your best with ties, tutus and tiaras, twin with a friend, terrific tie-dye or dynamic duo.
Eliza Phillips and Delaney Smith, both 8 and second-graders, and Madelyn Phillips, 5, a kindergartner, all wore purple Rugrats T-shirts and black skirts and had their hair in two ponytails.
“They had a bunch of options to choose from and thought twinning would be most fun,” Chantel Phillips said of her daughters and their friend.
At Medora STEM Academy, Dean of Students Kara Hunt said kindergartners designed their own pair of socks or shoes, read a “two” sight word book, practiced skip counting by two and played 2 bingo, while first-graders celebrated by making hats, practicing writing dates and doing a 2’s hidden picture.
Second-graders made Twosday hats, practiced two-digit addition and subtraction, had Twosday-themed grammar stations (homophones, compound words and double consonant) and ended the day with snacks in pairs and a dance party at 2:22 p.m.
Third-graders ate 2-shaped donuts and did Twosday activities with compound words and two-digit computations, and fourth-graders tackled Twosday by completing a number 2 math challenge and writing about what life will be like when they are 22.
Outside of schools, Katrina Hardwick’s Tuesday morning crew at Body Rock Dance, Health and Fitness Studio in Seymour worked hard in class showing they are “2 legit 2 quit” on Twosday 2/22/22.
Tuesday also was a special occasion for Jamie King because it was her birthday and she planned to celebrate by not being at work and relaxing, Abigail Branaman celebrated her daughter’s first birthday and Jody Ruddick’s oldest son turned 17.
“He was born on a Tuesday and now celebrating on a Twosday,” Ruddick said.
Kylie Robbins said her daughter, Paisley Sage, was born on 2/2/22 and was getting discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit on 2/22/22.
“That’s our celebration,” Robbins said.
Like some of the schoolkids thinking of others on Twosday, Barbara Bradley gave back, too.
“Finished two more lap quilts for a nursing home donation,” she said.